| Variable | Description |
| Dependent variables | |
| New patent applications after round | Number of additional U.S. patent applications after funding round (patent applications between 12* (24**) months before and 12 (24) months after funding round are counted); *M1, **M3 |
| New citation-weighted patents after round | Number of (three years forward) citations of new U.S. patent applications after funding round. |
| New trademark applications after round | Number of additional U.S. trademark applications after funding round (trademark applications between 12* (24**) months before and 12 (24) months after funding round are counted); *M 2, **M4 |
| Independent variables | |
| Intellectual property characteristics | |
| Patent applications before round | U.S. patent applications that a start-up filed before a round |
| Patent dummy | Allows distinguishing between start-ups that have not applied for any U.S. patents prior to first funding (=0) from those that have |
| Citation-weighted patents before round | Number of (three years forward) citations of U.S. patent applications filed before funding round |
| Citations dummy | Allows distinguishing between start-ups who have no patents cited prior to first funding round (=0) from those that have |
| Patent literature bwd. references | Number of backward references in patent literature of U.S. patent applications filed before funding round |
| Non-patent literature bwd. references | Number of backward references in non-patent literature of U.S. patent applications filed before funding round |
| Trademark applications before round | U.S. trademark applications that a start-up filed before a round |
| Trademark dummy | Allows distinguishing between start-ups that have not applied for any U.S. trademarks prior to first funding (=0) from those that have |
| Investment characteristics | |
| Round 1 dummy | Refers to the number of funding rounds, Equals 1 for first funding rounds, 0 otherwise |
| Round 2 dummy | Refers to the number of funding rounds, Equals 1 for second funding rounds, 0 otherwise |
| Round 3 dummy | Refers to the number of funding rounds, Equals 1 for third funding rounds, 0 otherwise |
| Number of VCs investing in round | Number of VCs investing in a funding round |
| Total amount invested in start-up by VC | Total amount of funding in USD provided by a VC throughout all rounds. In case of multiple VCs in one round the average is used |
| Investor Characteristics | |
| VC age | Time in years between a VC’s first investment in its company history and focal funding round date. In case of multiple VCs in one round the average is used |
| VC experience | Counts number of investments a VC already has undertaken prior to funding round date. In case of multiple VCs in one round the average is used |
| Start-up Characteristics | |
| Start-up age | Age of start-up at funding round date (in years) |
| Start-up industry dummies | Six variables to distinguish between start-ups’ industries: “Biotechnology”, “Computer Software and Services”, “Communications and Media”, “Medical/Health”, “Semiconductors/Other Elect” and “Other” |
| Start-up region dummies | Six variables to distinguish between start-ups’ regions: “N. California”, “New England”, “New York Tri-State”, “S. California”, “Southwest” and “Other” |